Cartoon Analysis: Property Protected—à la Françoise, 1798

 Suggested Sequencing

• Students should examine this source either as an introduction to or reinforcement of main ideas in The XYZ Affair and the Quasi-War with France Narrative.

Introduction

The French Revolution posed one of the first great foreign policy challenges for the United States. As John Adams’s administration began in 1797, the French were already at war with most European powers, including Great Britain. Anxious to follow Washington’s example and maintain neutrality, Adams dispatched a delegation to France to negotiate with the French government to stop the French seizure of U.S. merchant ships. This delegation was the subject of this 1798 satirical print entitled “Property protected–à la Françoise” (meaning “in or according to the French manner”) by British artist Charles Williams. In the print, America is represented as a woman wearing a feathered headdress. The two men wearing feathered hats and cloaks on either side of America represent the directors of the French government. The three figures surrounding the large, treasure-laden “National Sack” wear the tricolored cockade or badge of the French Revolution on their hats. The two standing Frenchmen each hold a sack labeled “Extorted from Portugal” (left) and “Borrow’d pr [per] Force from Switzerland.” Across the English Channel, John Bull laughs at the scene atop “Shakespeare’s Cliff.” Look carefully at the cartoon for several minutes before answering the questions that follow.

Sourcing Questions

1. Of what nationality was the artist of this cartoon)?
2. How might his nationality have affected his point of view on the subject of this cartoon?

1798 satirical print entitled Property Protected—à la Françoise(“in or according to the French manner”) by British artist Charles Williams